Apparatus for automatically indicating the time of flight of a projectile.



1:. MLLER. APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIGALLY INDIGATING THE TIME OF FLIGHT 0F A PBOJEGTILE. APPLICATION FILED MAB. az, 1911. 1,079,794. Pana Nov. 25, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

B. MLLER. APPARATUS POR AUTGMATIGALLY INDIGATING THE TIME `0P FLIGHT 0F A PROJEGTILE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1911.

1,079,794, Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

VJITrJESsEE. Y mM-:NTDR

Maw, I //ff L. MLLER. APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIGALLY INDIGATING THB TIME 0F FLIGHT APPLIOATION FILED 111113.22, 1911.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

OPA PROJ EGTILE.

E. MLLER. l APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIGALLY INDIGATING THE TIME 0F FLIGHT 0F A PBOJEGTILE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAR. 22, 1911.

E. MLLER.

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INDIGATING THE TIME OF FLIGrII'I` OF A PBOJEGTILE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 22, 1911.

1,079,794. Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5 llll ' WITNESS-:5 rbh/EBITDA EMIL MLLER, OF DUSSELDORF, GERMANY, ASSIGNOB T0 BHEINISCEE METALL-y waaanrn UND msomm'm 0F DUssELnoBmDEBENDOBF, GERMANY, .a

CUBPBATIQN 0F GERMANY.

.APPABATUS FOB AUTOMATICALLY INICATSNG THE TIME OF FLIGHT 0F .A

. PBOJ'ECTILE.

1 i specificati@ of Letten Patent.'

application mea nare-i1 22, 1911. smal no. 616,560. l

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, EMIL MLLER, engineer( a subject of the German Emperor, residing at 83 Collenbachstrasse, Dusseldorf, Germany, have invented certain new and useful j Improvements in Apparatus Vfor Automatically Indicating the Time of Flight of a Projectile; and Ido hereby ydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which y it appertains to make and use the same.

The time of'flight of a projectile varies for the same range with the elevation of the target. vOn this account, es ecially when tiring at highly elevated objects, such as air-ships for example,- the time setting of the fuse must be continually changed land must be adjusted with extreme care. For merly, the time of Hight was read 0E from,

tables as soon as the range and elevation of erator concerned with the setting of theI 'corresponds to the range.

times of' flight or the corresponding times the information required for setting the time of ignition of the fuse. The device can at the same time be applied to a machine for setting the timing of a fuse so that the opfuse always has the time `given by the indi- -cator before his eyes and can always control the action of the time setting machine by a glance.

The device consists essentially of a plate and an arm which move relatively to each otheraccording to the elevation of the gun. An adjustable indicator is attached to the arm, whichcan be set on the division which The diierent of ignition of the fuse are marked on the plate either in numerals or graphically, so that the indicatorlpoints automatically, as the gun is elevated, to the time of flight correponding to this elevation and the range se The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1s a view in side elevation of a gun equipped with a simple form of my present improvement. Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of the oppoaslte side of the gun rom that shown 1n Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view with parts omitted and others broken away. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation showin a different arrangement of Hight or ignition scale; and also showing means for setting the timing rin s ofa fuse. Fig. 3B is a similar view s owing an additional fuse tlmm ring. Fig. 4 is a section on line 4,-4, ig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are side elevations showing thel invention employed in connection with means for automatically adjusting the parts in positioning the gun. Figs. 7 and 8 si ow the same parts in differy PatenteaNov. 25, 1913.

ent positions, Fig. 7 indicatin the parts as' 'they are after the gun has and the target is in the horizontal plane through the axis of the gun; while in Fig. 8 the parts are shown in position when the gun has been raised to fire at an elevated. object.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the gun a swings in a vertical plane by means of trunnions in the carriage. A sector shaped plate d is fixed to the upper part cof the carriage. An arm e is fastened to one of the trunnions, so as to turn therewith. The plate d has a scale f of degrees of elevation engraved at its outer een elevated vation of the gun since the arm turns with the gun about the axis of the trunnions. Y

The arm e carries` in the direction of its length a scale of ranges g. A sliding block h carrying a pointer k can be set to any required range by turning a spindle'z' attached to the arm. The time setting of the fuse or the Hight of the projectile is laid off on the plate in a series of curves concentric to the axis of the trunnions which are num beredy for every elevation of the gun and given range. In the drawings these numbers are not shown. When the sliding block h has been set to the required range,e the pointer lc shows the time of Hight and time setting of the fuse for any elevation givend to the gun.

In the arrangements illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 the indicating device Iis combined with a fuse time setting machine. Similar parts are described by the same reference letters as before. The principal difference between the indicating device of Fig.^2 and of Fig. 3 is that the times of ignition or Hight are shown in the latter case in curves which each correspond to a deHnitetime. The sliding block is not moved by the spindle but set by hand in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. The spindle l connected to the arm e serves for the adjustment of the fuse time setting machine, which is situated in the hollow trunnion/v of the gun and is constructed in the usual way. A worm m on the spindle Z can turn a worm wheel o on which is the setting nose n. The disk p carrying a scale showing the times of ignition, is connected with the worm wheel o. A second worm wheel 1- carries the second nose g required for the setting of the charging ring vand can be turned by the worm s. This setting device serves to correct the times of Hight. A mark t on the worm wheel?1 allows a setting to be made to thedivision u on the circumference of the time setting machine. Several fuse time setting machines can be connected to the same indicating device, one of the machines being suitably disposed in the trunnions. For instance, in Fig. 3 I have shown a second casing for vinserting a fuse, the shaft Z and worm m (Fig. 4) being "elongated The shaft and worm for adjusting the correction of the time of Hight are likewise lengthened so as toact on both timing rings. The arm e may be fixed and the sector shaped plate d swung with the gun. Or again the arrangement may be modified so that neither the arm e nor the plate d rotates with the gun around the trunnions, but the movement of the gun is transmitted to the plate or to the arm by suitable gearing.

Figs. 5 to 8 illustrate a form of the invention in which when the range is set on the sighting apparatus the same movement sets the pointer on the fuse time scale, so that a single mechanism suHices for both settings. In these figures an aiming device is illustrated in which the A range angle is automatically altered according to the elevation. This does not form part of my present invention, being included in an application Serial No. 608,915, filed February 16, 1911.

As may be seen from the Figs. 5 to 8, the fuse time scale plate 1 does not turn about the trunnions, but about apivot 3 in an upper extension 2 of the sides of the carriage.

`The arm 4 carrying the pointer 5 is secured `to the extension 2. The pointer is displaced .ing to the range set.

by a screw spindle 6, which is turned by beveled wheels 7 by means of the hand wheel 8. The hand wheel also serves at the same time for setting the range at the sighting apparatus and is yconnected in the accompanying figure, which is shown by way of example, with thel aiming device 9 through a gearing, which is described in the before noted application, and in' which the range angle is-automatically altered by an arc 10 through the link 11, whenever" the gun is pointed at an elevated target. Since these devices do not form the subject of the present application, they need not be further described. The arm 12 of the sighting device Hts over the hexagon shaped trunnion and is connected .to the time fuse plate 1 by the pivotedrod 13, so that the plate 1, the carriage extension 2, the arm 12 and the rod 13 form a linked parallelogram. If the sighting device is adjusted to a certain setting by rotating the hand wheel 8, the beveled gearingv7 .also moves the indicator 5 along the time fuse scale into the position correspond- .Fig 6 shows this disposition of the parts. If the gun is elevated. the sighting device is brought by means of the arm 12 into the position shown in Fig. 7 in-which it isV assumed that the target is on the horizontal plane through the axis of the gun. At the same time the arm 12 pulls the fuse time scale plate 1 downward by means of the rod 13, the scale plate turning on its pivot 3.

The indicator 5 now shows the time f of Hight of the proj ect-ile for the given range.

If an elevated object is to be aimed at, the gun must be raised so that the arm 12 arrives at the position shown in Fig. 8 and takes the sighting device with it, so that the range angle previously set is altered by means of the link 11 by an amount determined by the form and position of the are 10. This disposition of in Fig. 8, where it will be noticed that the indicator 5 is set to a different time of Hight.

the parts is shownI Havingnow particularly described and j 'ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. In combination with a gun, means for indicating the range, and means for indicating the time of Hight of a projectile, one of said means being adjusted relatively to the other in adjusting the position of the gun.

"2. In combination with a gun, means for indicating the range, and means for indicating the time of Hight of a projectile, one of said means being automatically adjusted relatively to the other in adjusting the position of the gun.

3. In vcombination with a gun, means for changing the elevation of the gun, means for indicating the range, and means for indicating the time of Hight of a projectile according to the diH'erent elevations 'of the n. 4. In combination with a gun, means for time of Hight of a projectile, and means for simultaneously adjusting the sighting de- Vice and the range indicating means.

5. In combination with a gun, means foi" changing the elevation of the gun, means for indicating the range, means for indicating the time of Hight of a projectile, and means for automatically changing the Hight indiv eating means in changing the position ofthe un. g 6. In combination with a gun, means for changing the elevation of the gun, means for indicating the range, means for indica-ting the time of Hight of a projectile, a sight- Y ing device, means for automatically changinglthe Hight indicating means in changing the position of the gun, and means for s1- multaneously adjusting the sighting device and the range indicating means.

7."In combination with a gun, a plate having an elevation-angle scale and a scale .indicating the time of Hight of a projectile, an arm extending over said plate and having a range scale, a pointer adjustable on said arm and extending overI said Hight indicating scale, and means for eecting a relative adjustment between the plate and the arm.

8. In combination with a gun, a plate having an elevation-angle scale and a scale indicating the time of Hight 0I" a projectile, an arm extending over said vplate and having a range scale, a pointer adjustable on said arm and extending over said Hight indicating scale, said arm being mounted concentrically to said plate and movable thereover in changing the elevation of the gun.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.v f

EMIL MLLER.

Witnesses CHAs. BORNGRAEBER, AUGUST MLLER. 

